Stephen J. J. Mount, of Williston, died unexpectedly of drowning while competing in a triathlon in Shelburne on July 2, 2011.

Stephen was born in Vallejo, California on September 27, 1968, son of David and Frances Smith Mount. With his family, he lived in California, North Carolina and Montreal, Canada before the family moved to Vermont when he was age 14. Steve was a graduate of Burlington High School (Class of 1985) and earned a BS in Political Science from UVM in 1989. He played varsity football at BHS and was the Managing Editor of the Cynic at UVM in 1988 and 1989.

Steve married the love of his life, Karen Ashline Mount, on August 4, 1990. They have a lovely daughter, Brittany, who will be 17 this week, and delightful twin sons, Jacob and Ryan who are 13. They will all miss their father but are determined to have futures that would make Steve very proud.

In addition to his wife and parents, Steve also leaves three brothers, James of Colchester and wife Kelly; Robert of St. Albans Bay and wife Bridget; Richard of Burlington and wife Julie; and his sister, Kristin of Essex and her husband Nick Rosato. His in-laws, Terry and Kay Ashline of South Burlington also survive him as does his brother-in-law, Rick Ashline of South Burlington, and his niece, Samantha who resides at his and Karen’s Williston home. He also is survived by many nieces and nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

Special friends included David Chess, Tammy Proulx, and Kenneth and Victoria Morrison. Stephen and Karen were the godparents to Nicole Liberty and Kaitlynn Proulx.

Steve worked at IDX/GE for 21 years as a Senior Software Engineer. He really enjoyed his work there and the camaraderie of his peers. Steve loved to write and authored several books for young teens that he hoped one day would be published. He wrote a bi- weekly column for the Williston Observer and until very recently, he maintained a website www.usconstitution.net, which received millions of page views and was widely used in schools throughout the country. Stephen loved the Constitution and had numerous mentions of his website on both local and national media. He was an active member of Immaculate Heart of Mary parish in Willliston, had served in the Vermont Army Guard, and was head of the Families As Partners (FAP) for Williston schools for many years. He donated blood and platelets as often as he was allowed to and donated his organs upon his death.

Steve’s life was built around his family and extended family. He loved being the cook on one of many weekend parties either at his Williston home or at his family’s lake house in Alburgh. There were annual Independence Day, Memorial Day, anniversary and birthday parties. Steve was an outstanding father, husband, son, and friend and will be truly missed.

Although Steve was a Type 1 Diabetic, he wore a pump and competed in sports. He ran in the Vermont City Marathon on a team in May 2011 and competed in a number of other sports that required good conditioning. Steve’s remains have been cremated and interred at Resurrection Park in South Burlington VT.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to a college education fund for his three children. Donations can be made to Mount Family Education Trust, 325 South Union St, Burlington